|
•
What
is spyware?
• What is spyware capable of doing on my computer?
• How did I get spyware on my computer?
• If spyware can come from any program, what is the
point of downloading anything?
• How can I remove spyware from my computer?
• How can I prevent spyware from getting on my computer?
• What's with all the pop-ups?
•
Useful Links
What
is spyware?
Spyware is Internet slang for Advertising Supported Software (Adware).
This allows software authors to create shareware (free-to-try software)
and put banner advertisements into their software so users don't have
to pay for it. Through this arrangement the author of the program gets
a portion of the revenue from these banner ads as well as the company
who has placed the ad in the program.
What
makes some of this Adware dangerous is that some of it will install tracking
software on your computer that monitors your surfing habits and sends
them back to the main server. This data is collected and used for statistical
analysis most of the time. Now, while most spyware is not malicious the
fact remains that it is taking data from your computer and sending it
to a remote location.
What
is spyware capable of doing on my computer?
Spyware exists as an independent, executable program on your system, and
has the capability to do anything any program can do, including monitor
keystrokes, arbitrarily scan files on your hard drive, snoop other applications
such as word-processors and chat programs, read your cookies, change your
default homepage, interface with your default web browser to determine
what web sites you are visiting, and monitor various aspects of your behaviour,
"phoning home" from time to time to report this information
back to the spyware's author. It can even notify the spyware company of
any attempts to modify or remove it from the system. All the information
obtained by the spyware can be used by the spyware author for marketing
purposes, or sold to other companies for a profit.
How
did I get spyware on my computer?
If you have ever had KaZaa media desktop on your computer or various other
file-sharing programs chances are you have spyware on your computer. The
spyware that comes from KaZaa contains pop-up advertisements and can even
corrupt your network settings preventing you from connecting to the Internet.
Many other programs that can be downloaded from the Internet contain spyware
and even software that you buy from a store can sometimes contain hidden
spyware.
If
spyware can come from any program, what is the point of downloading anything?
Spyware is an infringement on your privacy and can also be an annoyance
when windows keep popping up endlessly. Yet compared to a system-crippling
virus, spyware is tolerable. The thought of spyware getting onto your
computer should not be a deterrent when you are deciding to download something.
Most software doesn't hide the fact that it contains third-party advertising
software and asks if you want to install it during installation.
How
can I remove spyware from my computer?
Many people think that by uninstalling an application that spyware came
with will remove the spyware from your computer as well. This is not true.
By manually deleting an application that put spyware on your computer
you will not permanently remove the spyware either. To remove spyware
effectively you need to download a program that scans your hard drive
and detects the spyware and can then remove it. It acts very much like
an Anti-virus program in that it scans your hard drive and then quarantines
files before they are removed. This allows the program to ensure that
your computer's integrity is unaffected before completely removing the
spyware. Below are links to two of the leading anti-spyware programs.
Both are very effective at removing spyware.
Ad-Aware
Spybot
How
can I prevent spyware from getting on my computer?
Do not download file-sharing programs from the Internet that contain spyware.
Most file-sharing programs do contain some sort of spyware and don't try
to hide the fact that they do. There are file-sharing programs out there
that have been stripped of the advertisements and spyware available for
download.
Scan
your computer at least once a week with Ad-Aware or Spybot in order to
keep your computer clean. You can also use a program like Zone Alarm that
monitors your computer's connection and acts as a personal firewall preventing
spyware from contacting remote sites without your authorization.
What's
with all the pop-ups?
Many spyware applications install themselves on your computer and download
advertisements to your computer in the form of pop-up advertisements.
There are many programs located on the Internet to block these ads. For
a good site with lots of information on the various programs that prevent
pop-ups click the link below.
PopUp
Killer Reviews
Useful
Links:
Info
on Spyware
General Spyware Info
Good starting point to
learn about Spyware
Spyware Info
|
